Professional photographer and frequent Rapid contributor Darin McQuoid focuses his lens on whitewater kayaking. McQuoid reveals what life is like as a travelling lensman.

California-based McQuoid wrote about a first descent of the South Fork San Joaquin River in our Spring 2009 issue. He's also been published in numerous other paddling magazines and is an accomplished boater.

McQuoid recently revealed a "behind-the-shots" glimpse of life as a freelance adventure sports photographer on his Kokatat blog:

“The reality of expedition kayaking is that behind the scenes we are pretty normal people. When I get back from an international expedition I am generally focused on a few things: first and foremost, spending time with my wonderful lady in Davis, California where she is a grad student in molecular, cellular, integrative physiology. With her busy schedule I slip into the domestic role at home, doing a lot of cooking trying to stick to day trips for kayaking. After that I spend time with family and friends, and of course pay all the late fees I accumulated during travel.

I generally walk away with around 5,000 images from a trip – sorting and editing these can take a little while. Most years I end up working a few odd jobs between expeditions: I’ve done anything from raft guiding to commercial maintenance, but as the years progress and sponsorships grow I am forced to do less of this.

Check out some of this extremely talented photographer's work at his website, Darin McQuoid Photography.

Photo Credit: Darin McQuoid